I wouldn’t say the story fully conveys the enthusiasm most of us have for rapamycin, and benefits that many of us here experience: Anti-aging Benefits of Rapamycin, Personal Experiences (part 2) , but it introduces people to rapamycin, which is a start.
In March, Robert Berger, 69, a self-proclaimed “better-living-through-chemistry type of person,” started taking a small dose of rapamycin once a week with the goal of increasing his “health span” — the amount of time he might live without serious disease.
Rapamycin is typically prescribed to organ transplant patients to suppress their immune systems. But many scientists and longevity seekers like Mr. Berger think the drug can do much more than that: They say it can delay aging and age-related diseases.
Mr. Berger, who lives in Saratoga, Calif., learned about rapamycin through a friend who runs Rapamycin News, an online forum for people who experiment with the drug. He said he hasn’t experienced any “‘Oh my God, I’m a different person’ kind of change” since taking it, though his dentist remarked that his gums looked healthier than they had in a long time, and he feels like he has more energy these days. But he admits “it’s really hard to tell: How much is this placebo?”
On podcasts, social feeds and forums devoted to anti-aging, rapamycin is hailed as the “gold standard” for life extension. Longevity influencers Dr. Peter Attia and Bryan Johnson are believers, both saying they’ve taken rapamycin for years, and touting research to their millions of followers that shows the drug can extend the life spans of mice by over 20 percent.
I thought it was a good article. But regarding the quote at the end: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. The evidence that I think will be most convincing is possible genetic or mendelian randomization studies on mTOR, with the caveats that is under entire life including growth phases, which could attenuate any possible effect… MR and genetic studies can find causal associations because of numerous reasons like a “natural RCT”. Before such evidence, it’s possible to do decisions under (greater) uncertainty with careful measuring, assessing expected benefit vs. risk, potential upside vs. downside, IMO.
From a pre-print:
Results: Our findings suggest that genetically proxied mTOR inhibition may increase the odds of attaining top 1% longest lifespan in the population (OR=1.24, OR* 95%CI*=1-1.53, pvalue=0.048). Moreover, mTOR inhibition significantly reduced body mass index (BMI), basal metabolic rate (BMR), height, and age at menopause, while increasing bone mineral density. Interestingly, there was generally little evidence linking mTOR inhibition to cardiovascular disease incidence, with the exception of weak evidence for a protective effect against heart failure (OR=0.94, OR* 95%CI*=0.89-0.99, p-value=0.039).
(Mendelian Randomization and mTOR)
Any press is good press! Rapamycin.news mentioned in the NYT: that’s amazing and will hopefully bring new people here! (the rest is just some journalistic BS)
Hey I’m that guy, A human being who has struggled with being overweight my whole life. I volunteered to be in the article to help others know about Rapamycin and the possibility of increased Healthspan.
I can understand such comments in the NY Times comment section, but not here.
This community should know better; that people have different metabolisms. Calories in / Calories out is bullshit. Some people have ratcheting metabolisms.
Other people’s experience with their metabolism does not represent the entire population.
I eat pretty healthy and get some exercise. Yeah, more would be better for health, but the times that I did a lot of exercise, I did not lose much weight.
I did lose 25 lbs with GLP-1 and then hit a 2 year plateau. After starting Rapamycin I’ve lost another 10 lbs and hopefully it will keep going.
People like myself could use drugs or therapies that modulate metabolism and increase muscle mass. Not just suppress appetite.
Bob - so tell us a little on the backstory here… I was surprised to see that The NY Times sent a photographer to your house. Did anyone else here get that kind of treatment?
Not sure why they chose me to have the photographer come out. They must have decided I was going to be the person they are quoting and thus be photographed? The photographer was very nice and professional. And it was enjoyable doing the shoot.
The article sadly doesn’t represent the situation well. I’m a bit frustrated having given an hour of my time to give details on longevity science … not even quoted. Won’t be wasting my time with them again - why bother talking to an expert for an hour and not even mention a single item that was communicated, and then have a softball article? Completely unimpressed, disappointed, and it was a missed opportunity for this journalist to do an exceptional job - she was given the data to do so.
I do think it’s nicer and more appropriate to refer people by their name or username if they’re in the conversation, rather than “he”, “the guy”, and not talk about weight abrasively. It was a good photo in the article anyway.
Not everyone is as sexy as Agetron … he sets a rough standard for the rest of us! But yes, being kind is always a good thing, and I suspect Agetron had no idea that Bob was on the Rapa Board and would see this.
Bob, it was a handsome photo and sorry that some people are close minded.
I wouldn’t be brave enough to be photographed for the NYT or to even use my real name, so my hat is off to you!!!
